With all due respect to the Indians' five-star offseason, in which they spent big money, signed some big names and on paper improved the roster big-time, here's the biggest, but also the only complaint you can make about the Tribe's all-in offseason:

The pitching is still scary.

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Not scary good. Scary bad.

To be fair, this wasn't a real strong free agent class for pitching. It was basically Zack Greinke and the Greinkettes. The Indians did well in bolstering their everyday lineup. But you could argue that going into the offseason the starting pitching needed more bolstering than the hitting.

After Greinke, who got six years and $147 million from the Dodgers, the top free agent pitchers were Kyle Lohse, Dan Haren, Hiroki Kuroda, Anibal Sanchez and Edwin Jackson.

The fact that three of the five either signed one-year deals (Kuroda, for $15 million with the Yankees, Haren $13 million from Washington) or hasn't yet signed with anyone (Lohse) tells you how weak the market was.

The Indians did their cherry picking from the fringes of the free-agent tree, signing Brett Myers to a one-year, $7 million deal and Daisuke Matsuzaka and Scott Kazmir to minor-league contracts.

They did acquire highly regarded prospect Trevor Bauer, but the newcomers -- and the returning group of starting pitching candidates -- all have flaws, the magnitude of which will help determine whether the Indians' position player upgrade will become a true difference-maker or mere window dressing on a roster doomed again to be torpedoed by a shoddy starting rotation.

Here is the stable of starters, flaws and all, on the Indians' spring training pitching staff:

Justin Masterson: In four of the last five years, his WAR figures have been: 0.7, 0.0, minus-0.1 and 0.0. WAR stands for wins above replacement, which means how much better the player is than a replacement player, which is defined as an average Class AAA player. So in four of the last five years Masterson hasn't been any better than a replacement player -- and he's considered the Indians' No. 1 starter!

Ubaldo Jiminez: In 42 starts since joining the Indians, he is 13-21 with a 5.32 ERA. Last year, he was just 10 walks shy of leading the American League in losses, wild pitches and walks.

Brett Myers: The last time he was used as a starting pitcher, in 2011, he was 7-14 with a 4.42 ERA, gave up 31 home runs and was in the top five in the National League in losses and hits allowed.

Zach Mcallister: Has only won six of his 26 career starts in the majors.

Daisuke Matsuzaka: In four years since going 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA for Boston, he is 17-22 with a 5.53 ERA, and one Tommy John surgery.

Scott Kazmir: Hasn't won a major-league game since 2010, when he was 9-15 with a 5.94 ERA and averaged almost five walks per nine innings for the Angels.

Corey Kluber: Hasn't pitched a full year in the majors, and he is coming off offseason knee surgery.

David Huff: Record over the last three years: 7-18 with a 5.04 ERA.

Carlos Carrasco: Was 10-15 with a 4.93 ERA and then missed all of last year due to Tommy John surgery.

Trevor Bauer: His next major-league start will be his fifth. Of his career.

-- So Pat Shurmur, who was so conservative as coach of the Browns that he did everything but punt on first down, is the new offensive coordinator for the Eagles, under mad scientist Chip Kelly, whose frenetic offense at the University of Oregon played like all the players' hair was on fire.

This I have to see.

-- Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, the coach of the East team in the NBA All-Star game, has chosen Chris Bosh to replace injured Rajon Rondo in the starting lineup for the East.

Spoelstra's decision was not a surprise because Rondo is a point guard and Bosh is 7-foot-1. As most NBA coaches will tell you, whenever you can replace a point guard with a 7-foot-1 non-point guard, who has spent the last two years sinking wide-open jump shots because opposing defenses ignore him while double teaming his two future Hall of Fame teammates, especially if the 7-foot-1 non-point guard is on the coach's team, and the coach, rightfully, doesn't really care about anything but his team, the coach would be crazy to insert into the starting lineup a point guard -- oh, say Kyrie Irving -- from a team the coach doesn't coach.

Besides, it's only an All-Star game that nobody, including and especially the players, takes seriously.

-- Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace, maybe the fastest player in the NFL, is a free agent. The Browns, maybe the slowest team in the NFL, need a wide receiver.

Hmmmm.

This could be the chance the Browns are looking for to finally acquire an impact wide receiver.

Well, besides the chance they had in the 2009 NFL Draft, when the Browns gleefully selected Mohamed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie in the second round -- and the Steelers took Wallace in the third round.

-- LeBron James says he doesn't think players should be judged by how many championship rings they have.

I believe that argument was first made by Luke Harangody.

-- ESPN NFL Draft Buddha Mel Kiper says if Brandon Weeden was in this year's draft he would be the best quarterback in the draft.

-- If you think ESPN is making a big deal about Michael Jordan turning 50, wait until you see what they have planned for when Tim Tebow hits the big five-oh.

Weak of the week

This week. Any week: You watch a college basketball game on TV, and, it seems, for about half the game you find yourself staring at the referees bending over the scorer's table staring at a monitor during an official review.

I'm with exasperated ESPN color man Dan Dakich, who while ranting against these endless game interruptions said last week of the referees: "They ought to just sell ads on their butts."